1-Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

Four years ago this month, John and I were just kids planning our wedding. We decided to give up sweets during our engagement to feel our best on our wedding day, and to more fully enjoy our dessert bar and wedding cake.

The big day finally arrived. We had been so good, not even having an ounce of sweets aside from honey and the occasional after-dinner mint. And you better believe we pigged out at the reception. I was in sweet tooth heaven.

Like most, our honeymoon was a time of sheer indulgence so when we got settled back into “real life” we hit the reset button on our diet. Sweets were out the door again.

That was, until we attended the wedding of some close friends in Portland where I met the chocolate cake that perhaps changed my life.

Yes, big words for a cake.

I’d resigned to give desserts up indefinitely. But then we show up at this wedding and it’s absolutely charming and the food is delicious and the ambience is perfect and the music is a local bluegrass band…and all at once they bring out this giant chocolate cake.

I wrangled our entire table into a discussion over whether or not this cake was worth breaking my fast for.

Unanimously, we agreed yes. I took one bite into this luxurious, velvety, rich chocolate cake, and amidst so many layers of mousse, cake and ganache my mind couldn’t comprehend what my taste buds were experiencing.

Was it worth it? Without a doubt, yes.

These days my sweet tooth still wins once in a while, but I keep it to the occasional indulgence. A donut here, a cookie there, almost always something on the healthier side of the spectrum. But especially in the last 6 months, always dairy free. And so, it was a given that I had to make my dream chocolate cake vegan style.

Friends, I’ve done just that.

As the title suggests, this cake is made in 1 bowl in under 1 hour! You can even make your buttercream frosting in the same bowl you used for the cake. Simplicity at its finest.

The ingredients are fairly simple and considerably “healthier” than most chocolate cakes.

Coconut oil replaces vegetable or canola
Oil is reduced with the addition of applesauce
Cane sugar replaces granulated sugar
And the only (vegan) “butter” is in the (vegan) “buttercream” frosting

If you’re like me, chocolate cake (or any cake, for that matter) deserves a giant scoop of ice cream beside it. Melty ice cream and a thick slice of heavily-frosted cake – does it get any better than that?

But for the modest cake eater, a glass of almond milk is really all you need to wash down this vegan chocolate dream. Enjoy!

Speaking of almond milk, this recipe marks the first of several recipes we’ll be sharing over the next few months featuring Blue Diamond Almond Breeze! I’ve been using Almond Breeze for years and am thrilled to bring you guys some tasty recipes featuring a product I adore so much. For more information about the integrity of this brand, see their FAQ page.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (176 C) and lightly spray 2 8-inch round cake pans or 1 large rectangular pan with nonstick spray (see notes for cooking times for different size pans). Dust with cocoa powder, shake out the excess and set aside.

Mix the almond milk and vinegar in a large mixing bowl, and let set for a few minutes to activate. Add the oil, coffee, vanilla extract, and applesauce and beat until foamy.

Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a sifter and slowly sift over the wet ingredients while mixing with a hand-held or standing mixer. If you don’t have a sifter, simply mix dry ingredients in another bowl and add to the wet mixture while beating. Beat until no large lumps remain. It should be creamy and pourable. Taste and adjust sweetness as needed, adding more sugar if desired (I found it plenty sweet).

Divide batter evenly between your 2 cake pans or rectangular pan.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

While cooling, prepare frosting by beating together all ingredients until light and fluffy, adding the powdered sugar in small amounts until you reach your desired consistency and sweetness. If it becomes too thick, add more almond milk. If it's too thin, add more cocoa powder or powdered sugar.

Once the cake is cooled, frost generously with buttercream frosting, adding a thick layer between the top and bottom layers (if doing a 2-layer cake). Alternatively, omit the frosting and dust with cocoa powder.

Serve with a scoop of dairy-free ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate, or caramel sauce, coconut whipped cream or a glass of almond milk!

Notes

*I tested butternut squash puree in the original recipe and it made it a bit too dense for my liking. Applesauce was perfect, which is why I highly recommend it over other purees.*Double the recipe and use 4 pans for a 4-layer cake. Halve the recipe and use 1 pan for a 1-layer cake.*Adapted from my Fudgy Vegan Beet Cupcakes*Buttercream adapted from Martha Stewart*Confused on how long to bake your cake when using different pans? Here's a helpful guide.

I had the same problem with the oil solidifying while beating. I was using a metal bowl and a metal beater so couldn’t put them in the microwave. I used a hairdryer to blow warm air onto the batter, bowl, and beater. After a few minutes, the oil melted again. Once melted, I beat again briefly, still aiming the hairdryer at the bowl. When I made this recipe, the batter never did get foamy, but the cake turned out great.

I put the mixing bowl on the stove–the oven is being heated to bake the cake. the bowl warms as the oven is heating. the coconut oil is being melted on a burner on the stove. I would put wet ingredients on the stove to warm as the oven heats–then, when the coconut oil is melted, they can be added to the dry ingredients. The Microwave will warm the one bowl, but I like to have all the ingredients warm without cooking them. I do a lot of cooking with coconut oil. It is pretty cold in No America so it doesn’t stay at liquid at room temp, like in the tropics. If you are using eggs for baking–I beat them up in a bowl and set them on the stove to warm as well–works fine. I can’t wait to try this recipe–but I would skip the frosting and just eat the cake!

Help please!!i trireme making the recipes but the cake tastes as if it’s missing something maybe I should have put the coffee instead of more milk? Also, the buttercream does not look light and fluffy like the one in the picture.instead it looks more like a fudge

I have found that it also depends on the temperature of the other ingredients so I try to be sure they are at room temp or pop in microwave for a few seconds, especially the applesauce and milk. Hope this helps.

Dana, I’ve tried a few of your recipes without fail (ahem, especially those biscuits…..YUM). After searching various vegan recipes, this is the cake I’m going to make today for my BIG 40!!!! Thank you for yummy recipes!

Hi – Just found your blog by searching for healthy granola bar recipes. :) Lot it! Question… I’ve only used coconut oil in solid form (or when I’ve needed it melted, it’s always been in the summer and the oil is already liquid). Do you measure the coconut oil in solid or liquid form? I want to make sure I get the proper measurements. Thanks! :)

This cake looks like pretty much the best. thing. ever. I love everything about it and just glancing at that ingredients list I can tell that it’s the most awesome chocolate overload ever. That buttercream!! See that little bowl of it in the background? Can I have that with a spoon? Please?
Pinning!

Hi Soraya! Other readers have made these into cupcakes, so scan the comments for suggestions/results. However, I would say just reduce the cooking time by half and check every few minutes thereafter for doneness. Hope that helps and good luck!

I’ve made these into cupcakes and they turned out pretty great. The recipe will make 24 cupcakes, so if you want 12, I suggest you half the recipe. Bake them for 16-18 minutes and out comes beautiful and delicious chocolate cupcakes. ;)

This looks fabulous. I love your commitment to making cake healthier. I can’t wait to try this! I bet the applesauce really brings a great texture. I do love a moist slice of cake – slightly dense is incredibly appealing to me!

I made this cake for my wifes’ birthday for the first time. It came out the BOMB!! When I told a friend of ours I was making a vegan chocolate cake, she said “Who is going to eat that?” I said “All of us” (family).
When it was done, half the cake was gone within :30 minutes. The very next day it was gone. I saved a piece for another friend. Told him I made the cake and he said he had to pray first. Told him it was vegan, he almost turned his nose up at it. Asked him how was it and he said it was Really good. No more egg cake for me!!

This cake is happening this weekend. Oh yeah! I can’t tell you how much I love your site and your vegan recipes. I know you’re not vegan but I so appreciate non-vegans who really embrace vegan recipes with no baggage. Thank you.

Oh, thank you Sara! That means so much. I try to embrace veganism as I go, naturally. I’m not ready to dive all in yet and maybe I never will be. But experimenting and trying to eat more vegan dishes has proved super enjoyable! Plus, vegan baking? Super fun (and you never miss the eggs, butter, milk, etc.).

It’s very easy to make your own almond milk. Just soak one cup of raw almonds in water for 8-12 hours. Rinse the almonds well with water after they are soaked. Put almonds with 4 cups of water in a blender with a few dates and a teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Blend for a few minutes. Use cheese cloth or a milk nut bag to strain the almond bits out.

You don’t want Blue Diamond almond milk anyway. She recommends them b/c they’re her sponsor (fair enough — gotta pay the bills somehow), but it has all kinds of fillers (like a carageenan and calcium carbonate) and the company is a BIG supporter of GMO foods.

Oh my! A chocolate cake with no eggs, buttercream without butter. All I need to do is use gluten-free baking mix instead of wheat flour, and substitute rice milk for almond milk, and my kids will be able to eat it. I will definitely try this one out (and will not make the mistake of using coconut flour this time).

Omg….I was actually browsing another recipe and found this one. It was amazing, what in the world did you do that you did not have the same experience as everyone else. I followed the recipe to the tee and it was amazing. My husband was in cloud nine, I made for his B-day.

No way I’m sorry that the cake did not turn out well for you , buttt I’ve make it twice now ; making my own apple sauce and on the second occasion my own almond milk. All I can say that everyone who has tasted it wants more and is asking for the recipe. It’s is beyond tasty . If you throw in a handful of sour cherries into the mix wow . O

Maybe…you just didn’t make it right. I’ve done this cake holding a new born and with a 4 year old blabbing at me. and turns out AWESOME everr time. with coconut milk, almond, coffee, no coffee…etc.
To be fair Iam a professional cook. went to university for cooking…so…be fair with the recipe, maybe was you. ANd btw this one doesn’t recall beans. good luck.

I know the comment I’m replying to is very old, but I was a) surprised the cake did not turn out well for anyone — I just made it for my vegan daughter’s birthday and I am a picky baker/baked goods eater and not a vegan myself yet I thought this was really very good and b) kind of taken aback by the tone. What is it with the internet that brings this out in people?

For the record: I cut the sugar down to one cup in the cake. With the (surprisingly good) frosting, that’s all you need if you like a rich cocoa/chocolate taste.

I LOVE coffee in chocolate cakes! It just adds so much depth and flavor. Now I’m torn which to make this weekend — this cake, or your previous vegan beet cupcakes! Have to bring a dessert to a baby shower, so maybe I’ll just make both and let them decide which is the most delicious :) Thanks, as always, for sharing.

Not all almond flour, but potentially a mix. This is just a loose recommendation, but I’d sub the all purpose with a mix of almond meal or flour, oats or oat flour, and a gluten free flour blend + a little xanthan gum for binding. Hope that helps!

Cake that changed your life?! OMG…I need this! Also, huge props for giving up sweets during your engagement. I’m getting married in August and feel like the closer I get to the wedding day, the more celebrations that happen, the most sweets I eat, etc….you’re an inspiration to cut back! xx

Oh my gosh. My birthday is next week and I was trying to think of something I could make for dessert but still keep it somewhat healthy. DING DING DING we have a winner! I can’t get vegan butter though so I think I’ll use coconut whipped cream instead. NOMS. I’m so excited to make this. Thank you!!

The recipes you two share always have the best WOW factor! Sounds like a wonderful wedding with lots of nummy sweets (good on you two for holding out on sweets before then!). I pinned this before I even read the recipe. I so love the addition of fruit puree, cane sugar and coffee – my go to ingredients in every chocolate cake like dessert! Thanks for another great recipe!

This looks amazing! My daughter has quite a few food allergies and making delicious desserts for her has been tricky. Could you substitute anything in for the flour? I saw you mentioned almond flour in one of the comments, but we are nut free too. Basically we are gluten free, nut free, meat-eating vegans (if that makes any sort of sense)! Can’t wait to give this cake a try!

Kate, I totally understand where you’re at. I’d recommend going heavy on the GF flour blend since you can’t compensate with almond meal. Also, some GF oat flour might help break it up. If you can do eggs, throw an egg in there for binding. If not, add xanthan gum. Hope that helps!

Love all these shots Dana! Especially the first one on the fork, and that one where you’re holding up the whole cake with your fingers. Eeek! Were there any close calls with dropping that one? I have horrible balance. This cake looks so mouthwatering and I love the addition of fruit puree!

Cane is basically less processed. It’s slightly darker in color and only slightly coarser in texture, making it perfect for swapping out for sugar in baking. Basically, it makes me feel better about myself when consuming mass amounts of sugar ;D

MADE IT! and it was….WONDERFUL! The frosting was my favorite (and I ate way too much of it plain, especially considering I’m on a “break from dessert”…hmmm). I made this for my students, one of which is vegan and GF, and used a GF flour mix I purchased from my local co-op. Only other substitution I made was that I used granulated sugar, and perhaps a bit more of it then the recipe called for. I’m not sure if it was the GF aspect of it, but on its own the cake was a bit “bland” (a student’s word, not mine). Not sure how to remedy this….it was still amazingly moist which I loved, and will be making it again! Thank you! This was my first vegan/gf baking experience and I can’t even tell you how happy and appreciative my vegan/gf student was.

Organic cane sugar, nutritionally speaking, is no different than white sugar. It’s still white, despite the tiny amount of molasses remaining. The nutritional value is miniscule. All sugars and syrups are bad for you. The best ones have significant nutrition, so as least you’re getting some vitamins and minerals. The most nutritious sweeteners are date sugar (dried ground dates), dried fruit paste, concentrated fruit juice, and raw sugar. Your cane sugar (or “sugar in the raw” as well) is *not* raw or minimally processed. It has only a tiny amount of molasses left. Raw sugar contains all the original molasses content. You can buy it as “sucanat”, or at Indian or Mexican markets. It’s similar to dark brown sugar.

Dana! This (and all your recipes) looks amazing! I loved reading how that wedding cake inspired this masterpiece. I remember wanting to go sit in a dark corner with no one watching and eat me some dang wedding cake uninterrupted. Funny thing was the caterer dropped the middle tier on the way to the reception!!

Wha!!?? No way. Can’t believe he dropped the cake! I didn’t envy you on your wedding day. You were too busy meeting and greeting to devour that cake! Suh good. We miss you guys! But we’ll be out in Portland this summer so I’ll keep you posted!

Whoa… that is a seriously awesome looking cake! It’s my birthday in a few days… so i’m totally making myself this cake… maybe i’ll add sprinkles to make it festive :) Love your posts guys… seriously!!!

Daaannnaaa, my birthday is in two weeks…..do you ship? ;) I want to take a big bite out of my monitor! I love that this is a quick and simple cake. Sometimes ain’t nobody got time for making a complicated cake! :)

We were planning our wedding this time 4 years ago, too. It seems like forever ago, but in the best way. we also had a dessert bar that my friends and fam still talk about…probably my proudest DIY from that day.

That said, THIS CAKE looks glorious. I mean, chocolate on chocolate is always a good idea.

Holy crap, that is one seriously amazingly gorgeous perfect cake! My mouth is pretty much salivating right now…cute! :-D I don’t know if there is anything better than a rich chocolate cake and a glass of milk.

Back again! As I said I would, I made the cake this weekend and man, was it delicious! It was served to 4 non-vegans who loved it and devoured it. And it was super easy to make too which makes it even more great. I have a feeling this will be in the permanent rotation. THANK YOU!

I made this cake and follow all the instructions to the letter. It looked perfect and I was so happy to seve to my friend for our afternoon tea. Unfortunetelly it was not good. It was not cooked in the middle and was very heavy not soft and moist as it was suppose to be. What went wrong?

So, I’m not even a huge chocolate fan but I made this cake yesterday with my friend and her daughter and it was AMAZING!!! VERY moist, not too sweet, and light! Hands down my favorite dessert and I’ll be making one for my birthday this year. I’m officially a chocolate convert, even had a piece for breakfast this morning. Thank you Dana for continuously offering these awesome vegan recipes!!!!

I made this cake over the weekend for a girls cooking club, substituted a different frosting recipe (one that is made with real butter, powered sugar, vanilla and espresso!) and it was delicious! The cake was great and friends have asked for the recipe. My husband was not happy there wasn’t any leftover!

I made this over the weekend… I posted a pic on Instagram… WHOA, I literally ate almost half the frosting on its own – SO Delicious!! No one knew this cake was vegan… I also used gluten free flour and it turns out INCREDIBLE! this is my new stand by cake :)

This cake looks amazing. My boyfriend is gluten-free and vegan, and also can’t eat regular sugar — yet thinks he’s a low-maintenance eater, ha. :) He can eat other sweeteners, though, such as agave, honey and stevia. Would you have any suggestions to substitute the sugar?

Valerie, I think this is a tough one because liquid sweeteners will definitely mean the cake will require more dry ingredients to compensate. Plus, sugar usually works best in cakes texture wise. So if I were you, I’d use powdered stevia (don’t sub 1:1, obviously, since it’s much sweeter), and then add a bit more GF flour to compensate. You’re looking for a pourable batter. Just taste to make sure it’s sweet enough before you bake it off! Hope that helps!

I mean a one bowl reciepe….who -in their right mind- wouldn’t want that. Since my boyfriend always complaints about me using such a h-u-g-e pile of dishes whenever I cook/bake. This is perfect! HAHAHA ;-)

I actually made this recipe, and the cake portion turned out great. Moist, chocolatey, and completely delicious. The icing, however, was not so delicious. Maybe my chocolate was too hot? I forgot to ‘slightly cool’ it. At any rate, the icing turned out strange looking- sort of wet, and it looked lumpy even though the texture was smooth. You can make simple glazes just with melted chocolate and a couple other ingredients, so that’s what I opted to use. Ultimately it was a delicious cake!

I haven’t tried to make this cake yet, but if it tastes half as good as it looks, I’m gonna be the happiest person alive (yes, I’m that crazy about chocolate). That said, I really, REALLY hope this works, because since going vegan I haven’t had the pleasure of eating rich, delicious chocolate cake. So yeah, I’m looking forward to see how this goes. Oh, and I can’t express how thankful I am that you seem to be making more vegan dishes lately, because I really love this blog, you guys are amazing and do great work! :)

Thanks, Nanda! I’ve been eating almost entirely vegan lately, so the recipes are certainly a reflection of that. Let me know if you try this cake! Be sure to use applesauce because it’s the best puree to keep it light and fluffy. Hope that helps!

This looks amaing and I will try it out. Only one question, can I substitude the cider vinegar with e.g. white wine vinegar? I live in the netherlands and it is very difficult to buy apple cider vinegar.
Also coul I substitude part of the vegan butter in the butter cream with peanut butter?

Hello! Am making this tomorrow for my brothers bday, so a crowd of vegan sceptics!! Cant wait to show them how amazing the cake it.
Can I use wholemeal spelt flour instead of the flour you have specified?

The minute I saw this recipe a few weeks ago, I decided I would make it for Easter. It was a hit! So delicious and moist and chocolaty! I love your blog!
My daughter-in-law assumed it had way more oil than it really had. She was pleasantly surprised, as were the other non vegans in the family. I shared your blog with them all!!

Just made this cake, was sooo fudgey and delicious and went down a treat with all my non-vegan family! I followed the recipe exactly but for some reason the cake didnt rise at all :( and was rather flat. Still delicious thought, but maybe next time I’ll try increasing the baking soda/powder

I made this on Monday for my wife’s birthday and can honestly say after waiting decades (in her case) for a decent vegan chocolate cake, this is it – in spades. It is as easy to make as you say and your description of the flavour is spot on. Very rich, chocolatey and incredibly moist – it was just as good after three days in the fridge (well there was only the two of us eating it).

Wonderful recipe!!! I made this last night with great results. I halved the frosting recipe and still had plenty left. I baked it in two parts as stated, but the first cake collapsed after taking it out of the oven (although the toothpick came out clean) and was still a little sunk. Would it be worth using an egg replacer next time? Thank you again for this recipe!!

I’m not vegan but there are a number of members in my running club that are, so I decided to try this recipe so that they would have more options to choose from. I made a sheet cake instead of a layer cake since it was a larger group. It was fantastic and everyone raved about it! My daughter even asked if she could become vegan because it tasted so good :) I’ll be sharing this recipe with my friends.

Just wondering if you would recommend your own GF flour mix included in your banana bread recipe. I really want to make this but don’t want to have another GF flop. Vegan /gluten free baking is tricky and sometimes a major let down.

Hi, would substituting coconut oil for the vegan margarine in the frosting prove disastrous? I want to keep the same ‘butter cream’ texture that yours has but I don’t have any vegan margarine at the moment.
Thanks!

Thanks Dana – I decided to stick with nuttelex (vegan margarine in Australia) to make sure i didn’t lose the buttery-ness.
Thanks for the recipe – this is the first vegan chocolate cake I have attempted and the family were very impressed!
I did have a bit of trouble cutting the top off one of the layers (to make it level for layering) because it was so moist… I wasn’t sure if it was undercooked or perhaps I did something wrong during the preparation. And it definitely didn’t look anywhere near as amazing as yours did, but overall not bad for a first attempt!

Oh. My. Gosh.
For all of you who have not tried this cake, it is fabulous!!
One of my vegan friends decided to make this cake for me for my half-birthday (since she’s going to be in college when my actual birthday comes around) and while I was a bit skeptical at first, as soon as I took a bite… well, let’s just say I went bonkers and wanted to eat it all in a day! (Don’t worry I didn’t, I just went into a food coma (: )
Thank you so much for posting this recipe!! Now I can try to make it too :o)

I made this cake on the weekend for Mother’s Day. It was awesome! All my non-vegan family members loved it. I was a bit worried because there was no sign of any reaction a few minutes after adding the vinegar to the milk and then it didn’t get at all foamy when I beat the wet ingredients, but it turned out perfectly. I used a gluten-free baking mix and made it in two 8″ pans then split each of them horizontally to make a four layer cake. The icing was soooo delicious. I finished off the left over icing last night after the rest of the family had gone to bed – yum! Thanks for the recipe :-)

I baked this yesterday! Silly me, I thought your 2 layer didn’t look very big so I made a 3 layer. My cake carrier wouldn’t close! Thanks so much for this simple delicious recipe. All the non – vegans were totally wowed and this tasted better than any store – bought vegan cake I’ve had to date!

I am stoked, I found your vegan mint brownie ice cream, and then saw the ice cream cake recipe. OMG. !!!! It’s perfect because I was just stewing over what to make for my mom’s birthday tomorrow! So I was like, perfect, mint chocolate ice cream cake is IT! Then I realized that your cake isn’t gf. I’m dairy free and gluten free and make everyone else in the family “suffer” through with me ;) I mean, if I make ice cream cake, I clearly want to eat it, haha. So I’m glad to see that others have tried gluten free versions of this cake. I’m giving it a whirl tomorrow in the ice cream cake. I’ll let you know how it all turns out! Cashews are soaking and ice cream maker is freezing :)

Hi there i just wanted to say i made this cake today for Fathers Day and leaving do for a friend and it was absolutely incredible!!! Thank you so much for this fantastic recipe – it made everyones day and i am sure i will be making it for many occasions to come!! :-)

There is a special level of Hell reserved for people who make this cake, as truly it can only be the spawn of an unHoly union between the Devil and Betty Crocker.
I am decidedly non-vegan, not even vegetarian and my gf made this cake on Saturday. Four days later and this cake has, if anything, gotten better everyday. What Dark Sorcery is this? I can truly say this is the best chocolate cake I have ever eaten.
For those who dare dabble in this wickedness, I can only pray for your souls and your waistlines.

Hi, Just want to see what you’re sharing healthy. I will try the Vegan german chocolate cake and let you know how it turned out for me. Thanks
Ps: Do you have a recipe for banana pudding cake vegan style? Would like to try one for my mom for mothers day. Thanks again. Madonna

I made this last night- into cupcakes- and they turned out awesome. The cake was perfect. My frosting tasted awesome (like hot cocoa) but it was a little runny. Any tips on thickening it up? Maybe leave out the milk?

I’ve never baked a vegan cake before and I’m planning on using this recipe to make cupcakes for my son’s birthday party this weekend. I’m a bit nervous on how it’ll turn out and I have a few questions for you: 1.) Have you ever used this recipe to make cupcakes? If so, do you have any special tips to make sure they turn out? 2.) I wanted to add peppermint extract to the frosting to make a mint chocolate frosting. Is there anything in particular I should know when adding extract to a vegan frosting? Thank you for any tips!

Update :-). I made these cupcakes for my son’s birthday and they turned out great! I opted out of the mint because, well… I forgot :-). My only complaint is that I didn’t find the frosting sweet enough. I probably should have added more sugar but was afraid if messing up the recipe. I’m thinking next time I’ll add some agave to sweeten it up just a bit. Thanks for another good one!

hi! I just made this cake today with gluten free all purpose flour. I just added in 1/2 tsp of xantham gum like the gluten free flour bag recommended for cakes. It was delicious!!!!!!!! My parents who are neither gluten free nor vegan LOVED it and my dad asked me to make it for his birthday which is pretty incredible, as he pretty much hates vegan food.
I would totally recommend it! I also added coconut flakes into the icing- yum.

Made this for my daughter’s 17th birthday part as one of her friends is vegan and I was amazed that it is the best chocolate cake I have ever made! First time baking a vegan cake but so moist and chocolaty. Everyone loved it. I am addicted to this now as well as your granola bars!

I’ve made this cake about three times and each time it’s been gobbled by housemate (and myself!) far too quickly. I halve the recipe and make it in a rectangular slice pan with a frosting made from avocado/agave/cocoa/etc for more “everyday” eating (well, I like to tell myself this when I’m piling it into my mouth at 11pm…or 6am).

So glad you liked it, Deanna! I think other readers have made these into cupcakes, so scan the comments for suggestions/results. However, I would say just reduce the cooking time by half and check every few minutes thereafter for doneness. Hope that helps and good luck!

Well, I’m back to stalking. The summer is our busy season at work and I haven’t had time to experiment. I saw several of your recipes that I wanted to try, but when we were invited to a BBQ (with non Vegans) I jumped on the chance to make this cake. I’ve never made a cake from scratch, Vegan or otherwise, so I did a test run before hand. The first one tasted good, but was messy – Totally my fault! I learned a lot of general stuff about cake making on the first go. Well, the second one I made, the important one, was AMAZING. You are awesome!! Everyone loved it!

Sounds great. Suggest just pointing out to your readers that subbing granulated sugar and powdered sugar (if refined), disqualifies it as being vegan (processed via bone filtration). So many vegans these days confuse dairy free and egg free as sufficient for what truly vegan means. Even some vinegar is clarified with gelatin, etc.

Great point! In the US, all certified organic sugars are free of bone char, according to the USDA and the Vegetarian Resource Group. Many organic sugar packages are also labeled as vegan, in case consumers don’t realize.

This cake is a dream. An actual dream. It makes me wonder why I ever bothered putting dairy in chocolate cakes before I was vegan. After making my apple sauce I realised I only had about 3/4 of a cup’s worth so I sub’d some soya yogurt to make it up to the right amount. I also only had self raising flour so I used that with a teaspoon of baking soda. The cake is so spongey and fudgey, it’s like eating a fudgey cloud. I filled it with some home made vegan nutella and topped it with with some coconut oil buttercream. I’ve had rave reviews. Thank you so much, this will be my go to chocolate cake from now on and most likely the recipe i use for my wedding cake!

Just tried this cake and it had good flavor but i found mine on the overly dense side – like it didn’t bake all the way through! :( looked more like fudge than cake when i cut it. The batter looked really good before i added the applesauce (cuz i had forgotten)… do you think this would work without the applesauce?

I should have added, I am not a vegan ( I’m vegeterian) but came across this recipe online and with such good reviews I wanted to bake it. I hope I’ve not offended by asking about substitution with milk. thanks.

I’ve been searching for a vegan chocolate cake recipe for my wedding cake and this cake is it! I’m in love. I made a test cake and nobody even guessed it was vegan.
The frosting did really odd things and I have never before had that issue (looked so greasy and kind of separated). I just added vegan cream cheese and it was both beautiful and tasted great! Next time I may just make a spiced cream cheese frosting to go with it on for the wedding. I will never love another cake as much as I love this one. Thank you for that.

Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Nichole. A tip on the frosting: If you use Earth Balance (or real butter) from a tub instead of sticks, there is water added for ease of spreading. SO, when I’m baking, I always recommend the sticks! Hope that helps. Thanks for sharing!

I made this cake last night and it was fantastic and so much better than any traditional chocolate cake. Unfortunately in my haste to prepare it, I forgot to pick up apple sauce. Instead I substituted fresh, peach puree instead and it was amazing. Even my non vegan (yet very supportive husband) was very impressed <3

I made this cake for my hubby for Father’s Day. He thought it was “nice” and he ate almost half a loaf (I made 2 cakes in a tin loaf). My 3 year old daughter ate some, but thought it was too chocolatey and decided it was “a bit yucky” (boo!). I ate it and I thought I was a super woman!! I brought the other cake to work. My colleagues couldn’t believe it was vegan.
I will definitely make it again. Whoever says being vegan is boring, has never tasted this cake. Thanks for the recipe.
PS:
I reduced the amount of sugar to half a cup. The icing was sweet enough.

This was also my first time making a vegan chocolate cake and it was so delicious! Best chocolate cake I have ever had also! This is including non-vegan cakes! I altered the recipe to make it gluten free using a coconut flour mix and it was just as delicious :)

Seriously, thank you so much for sharing this recipe. My only question is about the frosting. Its pretty sweet. Is there a way to make it hold up nicely if making cupcakes but not adding so much powdered sugar? Your expertise is appreciated. :)

Yes! You can add enough powdered sugar to get it to the sweetness you prefer. Then add in another flavorless thickener of choice, such as arrowroot starch or a gluten free flour blend. Hope that helps!

Hi I tried the cake today. I had to bake it at higher temp of 400 F after trying for 30 mins at 350 F. The cake had risen nicely after baking at higher temp but dropped as it cooled down :( It looks so flat and hard now. I am a novice baker, where did I go wrong? The last time I tried an eggless recipe, the same thing happened. Please advise.

I made this lovely cake last night for my boyfriend and it turned out so good. I halved the recipe to make a smaller cake but calculated 2 things incorrectly so I ended up putting in more coffee and less applesauce. It still turned out perfect. I find a half recipe is quite enough cake for my boyfriend and I to consume in a couple days, plus it’s just easier to make. I bought apple baby food instead of traditional applesauce which is a thinner consistency, cheaper, and less waste than a big jar of it. Also I added almond extract to the icing which gives it a nice amaretto flair. Next time I might drizzle a little rum over the cake after baking. I agree with everyone on the fact that vegan cake is so much better than cakes made with animal products! Thank you Minimalist Baker!

Don’t make the same mistake I did, I used liquid coconut oil that turned to solid after mixing with the cold milk. Have the milk room temperature at least. I set it over a pan of warm water and solved the problem. Has anyone tried making this as a bundt cake? This cake is delicious, I have made it for my twin sister and I for our birthday celebration. Very rich and moist!

Made this cake for the first time for my vegan step-daughter’s birthday cake. My non-vegan, exceptionally fussy hubby & son ate it and loved it. The finished cake was lovely and moist and (I’m pleased to say) actually looked like your pictures. The frosting is divine!!!!

One comment, however, without the frosting the actual cake had no taste at all, despite all the cocoa powder in it and the batter tasting fine – any ideas why? I followed the recipe with two changes, I didn’t include the coffee (added the extra almond milk instead) and I used GF Flour and Xanthan gum instead of normal flour.

Hmm, not sure, but glad you still liked it! Mine was quite flavorful. Sometimes gluten free flours can absorb some of the flavor. Perhaps next time add a bit more sugar and cocoa powder? Hope that helps!

I just made this, and it’s cooling right now. The batter tasted amazing so I hope to get as great a result as you did. I substituted freshly brewed espresso for the coffee, and coconut milk for the almond milk. We will see how it turns out :)

I tried to make a vegan cake for the first time the other day and failed miserably. My housemate described it as looking like a fried tofu. I tried twice and both times they sank. But THIS cake I just pulled out of the oven and it looks amazing! It looks moist and soft. I haven’t been able to taste it yet as I am taking it to a fundraiser tomorrow but I’ll report back as soon as I do. Thanks!!

Hi! I just made this cake for my son’s 4th birthday (my daughter has allergy to egg, nut and dairy) and it was a HUGE hit! To make it nut free, I subbed the almond milk for soy milk. I paired it with an avocado chocolate ‘frosting’ and it was divine. People kept asking me how it was so moist with no eggs and no milk! This is going to be my go-to chocolate cake recipe from now on! Oh and cake & pastry flour made all the difference!

Made this cake last minute for a friend’s visit. Last minute as in I barely had time to let it cool and slap the frosting on before they were there! We all enjoyed it and agreed it was a nice cake, even if the bf said it had a strange ‘healthy’ taste to it. Afterwards I put the leftovers in the fridge.
OH
MY
GOD
Overnight the cake matured into THE MOST AMAZING mud cake I have ever eaten. It 100% belongs in a posh cafe. It’s incredibly soft and dense and delicious (and I only made one layer). My advice is to make it the night before a special occasion and then gloat heartily as your friends and and family tuck in and stare at you like a baking god.

Thank you so much for the recipe!

Also due to time constraints and a lack of vegan butter, I subbed in a chocolate avocado frosting from a paleo recipe site. It was more like a ganache but it worked really well. The recipe is crazy simple too, just drop 1 ripe avocado, 1/2 a cup of cocoa powder, 1/2 a cup of maple syrup and a small pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse a few times until they’re good friends and all creamy.

*I also subbed the unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze because it was in the fridge and had to use a sugar-sweetened jar of applesauce from the supermarket but doubt either of those things mattered too much besides added sweetness.

I made this cake yesterday as a birthday cake for a good friend. Myself and three carnivores concur, BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG, first I have to say, I haven’t baked a cake in 20 years. My culinary skills are such that, while I can bake, I’ve kind of devolved into a combination of Lucy and The Three Stooges in the kitchen. The 15 minute, one-bowl cake took me several shopping trips and cost an extra dress and three sweaters: a day and a half to make. Didn’t realize I didn’t have a hand-held mixer. Had a little bullet thing with a whisk attachment. So, picture wiping chocolate cake batter off of multiple walls and weird places in the kitchen. It was entertaining.

I don’t have whole wheat pastry flour but I do have regular whole wheat all purpose flour…would that work or do you think I should just stick with unbleached all purpose flour? Also, can I use my own homemade almond milk?
Thanks and can’t wait to try this!

We recently discovered our daughter has an egg allergy, so I have been frantically searching for recipes to replace my tried and true standbys. This recipe takes the cake (heh). I intended to go all out vegan for the cake, but didn’t have enough almond milk, so I subbed for raw milk. This was the most deliciously most, tender and lovely egg free cake I’ve ever eaten! It was my son’s birthday cake and I made ermine frosting for it. Everyone loved it! This will be added to my rotation for sure!

Does the taste differ greatly when you skip the coffee and add more almond milk? And do I add the same amount of almond milk as the amount of coffee?
I want to make this for my daughter’s christening, but don’t want my 3 year old having coffee!!

I have family coming for Thanksgiving that are vegan. Since I am the baker of the family, I was asked to make a vegan dessert. I planned on making your cake, but only issue is, they also do not eat any oil, in any form. There already is applesauce in the recipe, so what would you suggest I use to replace the oil as well? I have looked through the comments, but hadn’t seen any with any suggestions.

I made this cake for Thanksgiving this year, and it was a huge success! Living in the South and being vegan has many challenges, but the look on everyone’s face as they were gobbling up my cake and I told them that it was vegan was worth it! Now I’m making it again this weekend for one of my best friends birthday party. Thanks for sharing!

At 70 years of age I am learning how to convert old recipes to vegan dishes since my son and his wife are now vegans after being vegetarians for all 15 years of their married lives. Today was Matt’s 39th birthday. So I made this cake and cannot begin to tell you how happy I am at how beautifully it turned out and at how delicious it is.
I followed your instructions and knew as soon as I tasted the batter it was going to be good. No need for extra sugar. For the frosting I used 4 ounces of Earth Balance and 4 ounces of butter flavored Crisco. I scalded the almond milk before adding it a bit at a time and I also used a few teaspoons of strong coffee in the frosting since I had some left from making it for the cake. It was just perfect.
Thank you for convincing me that vegan food can be this good. Old dog learning new tricks here.

This recipe is out of this world! Delicious, moist, rich, chocolately without being too sweet. I’m the only vegan in the family but today I made this cake for the 4th time because everyone keeps requesting I make it for birthdays! Sharing wonderful vegan treats with people I love warms my heart like nothing else, so thank you Dana!

I made the cake twice now using one 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan. It tastes great and will definitely be a staple but I am wondering why the texture on the top half of the cake is different from the bottom. Top half is a moist chocolate cake, the bottom half is fudgy, and I can clearly see a demarcation line of the texture difference when the cake is sliced. I cooked at 350 F on my 13 x 9 x 2 inch pan for an hour and the toothpick came up dry. I tried cooking for less time but it was uncooked if less than an hour. Any thoughts on what I may be doing wrong? Or would it be really better on 2 8×8 inch pans?

I made this for my mum’s birthday, it was incredible! So moist, chocolatey, and mmmm delicious. I gave a piece to my friend, who fed some to her 9 year old son, he said it was the best chocolate cake he’d ever had! High praise indeed! It is quite expensive though, so will only bring it out on special occasions :)

This cake looks absolutely amazing and your story on it was awesome!! The temperance you have is outstanding.

I want to make this cake but I do not consume vinegar in my diet, i sub vinegar for lime juice or lemon juice, how much would you say I should use in this recipe?. Thank you soo much for all your amazing recipes!! I love them very much ❤

Hi! This is my first time ever making a cake from scratch and I need a little advice, please. The cakes turned out great, but I’m having trouble making the frosting “fluffy.” It turned out lake a pastry cake batter. Any suggestions? Thank you so much !

Usually, I love your recipes, photos, and writing. So, I’m reading this article, excited to find out how to make the delicious-looking chocolate cake, until my eyes hit this line:

” And you better believe we pigged out like fat kids at the reception. ”

Wow. I had to stop reading. Hurtful, guys.

Having been a fat kid, who was made to be deeply ashamed about her weight, I can tell you, I was extremely self conscious about eating anything around other people. Any amount a fat kid eats can get them accused of “pigging out”, whether they over-eat or not.

Thanks for the amendment, and the prompt (and sensitive) response. We can’t all be aware of everything all the time, but I deeply appreciate your understanding and changing once the situation was brought to your attention. It means a lot.

Not only will I continue to follow Minimalist Baker (on Facebook, and I also pin a lot of your recipes on Pinterest), but I will also continue recommending your blog to friends (many of mine are vegan).

Came across your recipe since your the 2nd story of Google news when I typed in “vegan”. Good for you guys! I have made some of your recipes before. I made this recipe last night. And my best critic (my husband) says its one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve made! So thank you. And thank you from the animals.

So excited to find this recipe and made a small modification to make it a red velvet cake. Lets see how it turns out, its baking right now! Now I just need to find a frosting, but maybe I can adapt the one above minus the cocoa powder. Any suggestions?

LOVE, LOVE your website, vegan, easy. I have a cake made, and kitchen cleaned up in less than hour an hour, my husband thanks you, I’m a messy chef!

This sounded great on paper but I think that there should be an egg replacer (flax egg perhaps?) in this.. I’ve had it in the oven for well over 40-45 minutes and it hasn’t come out clean yet and I followed the recipe to the T.

Thanks for this amazing recipe! It is the best chocolate cake I have ever made. It is very easy and very forgiving. For example, I accidentally used 2 TBSP cider vinegar instead of 2 tsp. I will not make chocolate cake with eggs again…

Just tried out this cake recipe, using Williams Sonoma Cup 4 Cup (gluten free) flour with a little xanthan gum added, and coconut milk subbed for almond milk. Haven’t frosted it yet, but on its own, the cake, while it looks exactly like your pictures, has an unpleasant gummy, almost slimy texture. I thought I might not have cooked it enough so I tried another batch with a longer cooking time. Same again. Did I do something wrong?

Thanks for this great recipe. My son is vegan and each year his birthday treats are a failure AND i’m a baker by trade so i fail miserably. Finally a cake that is moist AND didn’t sink in the middle. I gave some leftovers to my staff and a couple of customers who also thought it was delicious. Thanks again for this cake and in general for you fab site.

Just made this to test it for my son’s birthday. Amazing!! Followed the recipe to a T and it turned out so well. Definitely need a nice cold glass of almond milk to go with it :) Thanks for creating this!!

Made this yesterday for a friend’s birthday. It was delicious and moist! However, when I cut into it, I saw white specks within the cake. I think that may be either the milk + vinegar reacting or solidified coconut oil. Have you seen that before? I’ve baked with coconut oil before so this was new/surprising to me. Either than that, cake was amazing!!! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!

Delicious!! I cut the recipe in half and made cupcakes. They came out perfect (even though I forgot to halve the baking powder) and I will make them again, perhaps adding peppermint. Great recipe!! I didn’t have enough chocolate for the frosting, so I just left it out for a creamy vanilla.

This is the first recipe I have baked vegan. It is exactly what I expect a chocolate cake to be. Moist, rich, decadent, not too sweet but not bitter. I cut the recipe in half and only made one round. I don’t like frosting so I just mixed about 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and sprinkled it on the cake. I served it with fresh strawberries and blueberries. A little plain greek yogurt with some honey mixed in. I will be dreaming about this tonight. Thank you for introducing me to vegan desserts!

Thank you for sharing this recipe, I am looking forward to trying it soon! I am also excited to see you are using Almond Breeze ‘milk’. It just became available here in the last 6 months and I am totally sold on it, it’s wonderful!

My 75 year old grandfather loves to bake everyone a cake for their birthday. He measures out the box and will mail you a cake wherever you live. He makes several cakes a year so he usually buys box cake mix and canned icing and it’s usually not very pleasant looking or tasting when it arrives on the other end. I am fortunate enough to live with this man during my birthday this year. I requested he not make me a “box cake”. I wouldn’t eat it because I’ve seen the icing labels and tasted them in the past. I jokingly said how about a real cake, a vegan cake. Weeks go by. My birthday was over two days ago. My grandmother calls me downstairs and the two of them sing me happy birthday with a cake. He baked this cake at 2am while I was at work. It was delish!! How sweet life is? Thanks for creating a great vegan cake that even my grandfather can create.

I made this cake this weekend for my birthday dinner. It came out picture perfect! I did replaced the almond milk with soy milk since I have a food sensitivitie to almonds. I also used half whole wheat flour and half unbleached flour. Turned out great! I did notice that mine did raise higher than your photos. Everyone had seconds at midnight. :) Thanks for putting together a great vegan chocolate cake!

Great recipe. Jut made this for a friend’s birthday and it was amazing. Rich, moist, with a crumbly, caky texture. Subbed out regular flour for Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour and it worked great. Thanks!

Hello,
I wanted to let you know that I made your cake with modifications to make this gluten free for my daughter’s birthday. My daughter is Coeliac and she has a friend who is vegan. The cake was a hit and altered easily to gluten free. I have also had one of the birthday attendees ask for the recipe!
thank you so much for your help – its not easy finding yummy cakes easy to bake with all those dietary requirements.

This cake is amazing! I made this cake for a church meal, and the whole thing was gone before I could even get a small piece it! I substituted the regular flour with gluten-free flour mix and some xanthan gum, because some people are allergic to gluten. Also, some kids of my friends are intolerant to eggs, and they finally were able to taste a chocolate cake :) and I saw one of them “clean up” the plate for me.

I just made this cake on Friday and it got rave reviews by my non-vegan family and friends! My mom was so impressed she thought I bought it. I made the recipe as is, except I used Arrowhead Mills gluten free baking mix for the flour. The only issue I ran into was that I had to bake my cake significantly longer, about 45-50 minutes, before my toothpick came out clean. The end result was a very dense and fudgey cake, definitely not too dry. My batter was also not pourable, it was very thick. Not sure if that’s because of the gluten free flour or if the thickness of the batter is what necessitated the longer baking time, but it all worked out in the end. I used a different chocolate frosting made with cashews and then decorated the top with a sprinkling of powdered sugar, cacao nibs, and toasted pecans.

I need a dessert recipe to make for my vegan step daughter and granddaughter who will be visiting us this weekend and this sounds like it will fit the bill. I have liquid coconut oil and was wondering if there is any reason I can’t use that. If so, do I simply measure as stated in the recipe?

My daughter is vegan so I always looking for new recipes to try for her. Last Labor Day we had a lot of family over and I made this cake. It was a hit and no one new it was vegan except my daughter. She was delighted. I am going to make it this week for my women’s Bible study group. Thank you for sharing.

I have never EVER before left a comment for an online recipe but I have made a few dishes by Minimalist Baker now and this cake has prompted me to post!

I made a one layer cake to the letter (halving the ingredients) and it did not disappoint, it was so moreish, me and my partner have actually managed to eat the whole thing over 24 hours! Oops. Absolutely delightful sponge, perfectly sweet and the buttercream was enough. I tasted a hint of the coffee flavour throughout but it enhanced the flavour rather than overpowered it.

Just had to praise you for the fantastic recipe. Thanks so much, Kelly x

I made this cake for your little boy’s 5th birthday, yesterday.
Wow! It’s delectable. Beautifully moist and tasty. And yielded such a LOT of cake. This is definitely my ‘go to’ chocolate cake from here in. I added a cup of raspberries as he’s something of a berry fiend and it’s the close o Summer here in Oz. :)
Thank you SO much.

I made this cake for my little boy’s 5th birthday, yesterday.
Wow! It’s delectable. Beautifully moist and tasty. And yielded such a LOT of cake. This is definitely my ‘go to’ chocolate cake from here in. I added a cup of raspberries as he’s something of a berry fiend and it’s the close o Summer here in Oz. :)
Thank you SO much.

I’m not much of a baker, really. Nine out of ten baking experiments end in failure. When I saw the amazing pictures of this delicious cake I knew I had to make it though. This recipe dit not dissapoint! The cake was rich, gooey and fluffy and I was in heaven with the frosting. My friend claims it’s the best chocolate cake she’s ever tasted and could not believe it’s vegan. So thanks for this easy, reliant and delicious recipe!! :)

I made this cake earlier today for a vegan friend of mine. It was the first time I have done any vegan baking or used coconut oil. This cake turned out quite well! I really enjoyed it. It was moist and rich. I halved the almond milk in the frosting and replaced it with some cooled coffee to create a more of a mocha flavor. The frosting ended up being a little thin for my liking and I didn’t want to keep adding sugar, so I just threw it in the refrigerator before applying to the cake to stiffen it up a bit. Thank you so much for sharing a recipe that even an amateur vegan baker can succeed with!

Hi,
I am making this for a friend’s birthday tomorrow. We will both be attending an Orthodox church service for two hours before I’ll give it to her, so will it be okay until then? The frosting won’t melt or the texture won’t go funny?

I would really appreciate a quick reply because I need to make it tonight or early tomorrow morning!

I always like to try out new recipes, so decided to try making this cake gluten free, given all the rave reviews above. I do a lot of baking, and a lot of “converting” of recipes to gluten free for family, so I wasn’t particularly daunted or concerned doing this. I use a GF flour blend we have here in Australia that I can usually just directly substitute in. I added 2 tblsp of almond meal as well, plus a pinch of xanthum gum, as suggested.
I’m sorry to say the cake was an unpleasant rubbery slimy kind of texture. I had to bake it for an hour. I still don’t think it was quite done but I took it out because it looked like it was going a bit dry around the edges. It sank after I took it out. The cut surface of the cake was dense, slimy with absolutely no crumb texture at all. It was very disappointing (I’m not used to things not working!!) I ended up throwing it out :-(
I’m open to any suggestions on offer for what went wrong, or how to make this cake work as gluten free…..

I made this recipe with gluten free flour (well oats that I ground myself, so there might have been trace wheat in there). I’m not celiac or otherwise allergic, just ran out of wheat flour and got lazy.

As I’m sure you already know, gluten is important for creating sheets of denatured protein strands that capture the carbon dioxide bubbles in baked goods and impart greater resistance or ‘chew.’ Gluten, like most protein complexes, are relatively hydrophilic and bind water, retaining moisture in your baked goods as well. (I have a master’s degree in biochem, but there are also great tips in Cook’s Illustrated “How Can It Be Gluten-Free cookbook”.)

This recipe uses a simple chemistry trick with the vinegar and baking soda to release the carbon dioxide. That’s why overmixing it is so bad – if all the acetic acid finds all the sodium bicarbonate before applying heat, the CO2 will escape before baking. Cakes, unlike cookies and bread, don’t contain as much gluten, so most of the time substituting gluten-free for wheat flour should work reasonably well. In this case, I decreased the amount of total flour that I used (the final amount was about 1/4 cup less flour, wish I could be more precise). I also added the vinegar to the fruit puree alone (I used all banana) added that mixture to the oil and coffee, mixed to form a quick emulsion, then added that mixture to the dry mix. If I was to do it again, I would probably use commercial oat flour or invest in a mill – I didn’t grind up the oats as well as they should have been. My cake came out pretty spongy but there was a definite banana taste, so I just went with it and added coconut milk over the top.

Hi Mary
Thanks for the tips. I love the chemistry of baking (no degree though ;-), so fascinating how it all comes together isn’t it? Interesting that you added the vinegar to the fruit puree, not the almond milk. What does that do to the vinegar / bicarb interaction – slow it a bit? I sometimes sub banana in recipes calling for fruit puree, or a mix of apple and banana if I want it less “banana-ey”.
Did you use any milk at all in the wet ingredients, you didn’t list it in your comment, was curious to know…
I sometimes reduce the flour amount when I’m converting but it depends a bit on the recipe and the flour mix I’m using. More recently I’ve started experimenting with my own flour mix, so maybe I’ll try that in this recipe. Though I have so many gluten free vegan baking recipes now that I’m finding I’m generally doing less experimenting and just sticking to the ones I’ve got that are tried and true!
Thanks again for the advice, happy baking!

Hello there Beebs. I got an email notification about your response so I came back to clarify. I used almond milk in the cake recipe itself. I tried pouring coconut milk (the thicker canned kind) on top but that didn’t change the texture.

Yes you’re exactly right about the vinegar/baking soda reaction. I wanted to slow it down so it would gradually release carbon dioxide into the cake. Not sure how helpful it is, would be interesting to do a side-by-side comparison one day. Given the description you gave (that the cake was dense and rubbery) it sounds like a leavening issue of some kind.

I was so excited to try this cake recipe but also nervous as we’re long time vegans but newly gluten free. It was surprisingly awesome even with gf subs!!! I used 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbls Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour and 1/2 cup almond meal. I used two, 9 inch round cake pans and baked for 30-35 minutes. It was moist and fudgy but not gummy. The frosting is kick ass and makes the perfect combo with the cake! Thank you for the work you do! Your recipes and beautiful pictures are inspirational :)

Dana, I thought I owed it to you to finally leaving a glowing review. I’ve made this cake at least 8 times, and I’m working on making another right now, so after this many times everyone should know this is an excellent recipe. It is my go-to cake for my 3 vegan boys. My fourth son, a carnivore, loves it so much he requested for his birthday. I think the most important part of making this recipe is just to pay attention to each step. When I cook for a crowd I’m doing a lot of tasks at once and I’ve noticed that when I multi task my cake has been a little too moist. Either way this cake has never failed me! Today I’m changing it up a bit by making mint chocolate frosting as per a request. Oh, and of course, no one would ever know it’s vegan. Thanks!

This is an amazing recipe! Made for a baby shower and people just loved it. I doubled the cake recipe for a half sheet cake, and it was too much batter, so I got several cupcakes too which is never a bad thing. I also used cake flour, and added an extra half cup or so since its lighter. Turne out beautifully. Thanks!

I loosely followed the recipe (use my own gf flour mix) and improvised the buttercream as I didn’t have any powdered sugar and it was the best chocolate cakes I have ever had vegan or not. My question is…how do you store it? And how long does it stay good if you leave it out? I don’t like eating it cold BC the buttercream firmed up too much for my liking and the cake loses it’s soft, spongey texture that I love.

My husband and I are vegetarians who dabble in veganism. He works in a very masculine industry and the guys all give him a hard time about it. He had a work pot luck this week and signed up to bring dessert. We made this cake and didn’t tell them it was vegan until they had all raved that it was one of the best chocolate cakes they’d ever had.

This recipe should come with a TFA warning- totally freaking addicting. I always mean to share more of it than I do.
And my son loved it as his 1 year old birthday cake! He smashed it up and didn’t want to share either :).

I’ve made this cake 4 times now and each time it comes out wonderful! Delicious! I brought it to work for potluck, served at the house party…i don’t use the frosting, i just cake a ganache with coconut cream and dark chocolate and it is divine! Thank you!!!!! Vegans Rule!!

I absolutely love this cake, and I’m not vegan. My mom is vegan so I made this cake for her birthday. Silly me, I left out the baking soda so it ended up being more of a brownie texture. It was still delicious and next time I will try it the correct way. I also use this frosting on other baked goods, even if they are not vegan :) I’m going to try the sugar cookies for mothers day, thank you so much :)

I just have to say, I made this and two other chocolate cake recipes, and had a bunch of friends taste test them with me. I used a gluten free flour mix in all of them. The people I tested them on are not vegan or gluten free. This cake was the clear favorite! I got so many comments of “Amazing!” “The best chocolate cake ever!” I then made it again for my son’s birthday party (this time used plain all-purpose flour) and got all the same raving reviews! This really is the most amazing chocolate cake EVER!!!!!!

Hi there
I made this cake a couple of days ago for a friend’s birthday. I don’t know what I did wrong but the texture was so heavy, it was like it didn’t rise at all. It was solid and rubbery, rather unpleasant! And tips to achieve a fluffier texture?
thanks
SOphie

Thanks, Dana! I will be making this on Monday for my pair of twin brother and sister’s birthday. Since there are two people having birthdays, they requested me for a double layer cake. This recipe would be perfect, and they both LOVE chocolate cake. I’m coming back to rate this recipe after making it. So excited…

This is the best chocolate cake! I used GF flour instead and sub the sugar with coconut sugar and OMG, honestly the most moist, dense cake. Taste is sublime. Im not a vegan but I’m sure considering it now!! Im now working my way through all of the recipes :-) Many thanks guys, Big love from Australia!!

AMAZING !!! I made this today for my vegan daughter’s 23rd birthday and we all loved it. The flavor is so spot on and the texture was to die for. I will be making this again and again and again. Thanks for a great chocolate cake !!

I use ground oats instead of flour but it gave the cake a gritty texture. Next time I’ll just use wheat flour. Tastes fine though. I also poured a cup of sweetened coconut milk and rice milk over the cake in lieu of buttercream frosting. Sort of a “tres leches” redux?

Anyway, I like Blue Diamond way better than other almond milk brands. They taste more almond-y to me. Good on you for getting endorsement money from them. :-)

Taste is delicious, outcome wasn’t so great. The toothpick came out clean after 25 minutes, but the cake was still a jiggly consistency and fell apart when I tried flipping it out of the pan. What is the reaction that the vinegar and almond milk is supposed to create?

I used this recipe to create a mustache-shaped cake for a surprise party that my co-workers and I threw for our manager — his wife is expecting their first child: https://instagram.com/p/3mA-nQkBUi/. The cupcakes in the photo are vanilla because I wanted to add blue-colored centers, but I used the same chocolate buttercream frosting from the cake.

For the cake, I used white vinegar (instead of apple cider vinegar), espresso (instead of subbing more almond milk), melted virgin coconut oil (instead of grape seed or canola oil), unbleached all-purpose flour (instead of pastry flour), and cane sugar (instead of granulated sugar). Then I followed the recipe as is — it was easy to make this dessert, especially for someone who is new to making cakes and vegan baking like myself. I’m not vegan, but I liked how I could safely taste test the batter (yay for no raw eggs) and the ingredients are pretty simple ones that I either had on hand or can easily use again. I did follow someone’s tip of keeping the bowl of liquid ingredients on a relatively warm stove, thanks to the pre-heating oven — it’s very important to keep the coconut oil completely melted before the batter goes in the oven.

I normally don’t like chocolate cake (much too rich and sweet for me) or buttercream frosting (grocery stores give it a bad wrap), but this is definitely the best chocolate cake (and probably one of the best cakes overall) I’ve ever tasted! The cake was on the moist, fudgy side, and the sweetness level was great for my personal taste. It’s fine even without frosting! Speaking of frosting, that added some additional sweetness without being overwhelming (I used 2.5 cups of powdered sugar). Only a couple people in my office knew the desserts were vegan (including my vegan friend, who wanted the recipes afterwards), and I received so many rave reviews from this mostly omnivore crowd.

Thanks for the awesome recipe! By the way, cool website! I’m definitely curious to try out more of your recipes (the photos definitely “sell” them) and do some more vegan baking overall! :)

I know coconut oil is all the rage these days, but I’ve been hearing that it raises LDL cholesterol (the “bad”stuff).
I am re-designating the huge jug of it in my pantry to the boudior for skin moisturizing!
Can I sub Earth-Balance Vegan “Buttery Sticks”?

I would also like to try making cupcakes with this recipe. I’d like to freeze them. Would you recommend freezing them minus the frosting and frosting after thawing? Also, baking time-15 to 20 minutes?
I’m a relatively new vegan (4/6/15) so I’m still researching,exploring and learning!

Dana , I just landed on your page and I LOVE IT. I loveeeee this recipe, A LOT, I read it three times from top to end. desperately trying to cram the ingredients and steps into my head, will be trying this as the first vegan recipe I make. Seems difficult a bit, but I am up for the challenge. Loving loving your page!!!
wishing you the best,
Dana
x

Amazing, amazing recipe! Not to mention this is my first vegan recipe. I actually substituted a few items though – Flax milk + protein for Almond milk, part agave for cane sugar. And Bob Mills gluten free flour. Really incredible, my taste buds were jumping with joy! [And so were my entire family’s! :) ] I’m making it again this weekend for my niece, cannot wait to see what she thinks. I’ve tried a few of your recipes in the last few months and I must say, by far, the most simplest, straightforward, and on point recipes I’ve ever tried! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Xx

My girlfriend and I made this cake following your recipe and it turned out PERFECT! Thank you so much! Incredibly rich, moist and delicious! The only problem I have is stopping myself from eating all of it! :D

You had me right up to the end. Powdered Sugar, my dear, is not VEGAN (Powdered sugar is as white as it is because of the bone meal used to make the sugar white).

But I’m not discouraged, I’m going to put my natural sugar through a coffee grinder until they are powdered. Then I’ll truly have a Vegan cake to boast about. It works and you don’t have to compromise the recipe!

Glad you found an acceptable solution. Just want to point out that vegan powdered sugars do exist.

While not vegan, we utilize many vegan baking recipes due to my son’s egg allergy. My typical go-to chocolate cake recipe is the classic Crazy or Wacky cake. I was looking for an alternative chocolate cake. Perhaps one with a more solid structure that has a better chance at being stackable and carvable. My test run of a half recipe in an 8″ round pan is very promising. My only sub was to use soymilk instead of almond milk as it was all I had in the house. Love the flavor and texture. Next up will be a test in a larger pan. Thanks for a great recipe.

This is a truly, seriously, decadent but guilt free, cruelty free overall AMAZING chocolate cake–if you can’t tell it just made me really happy. I made it for my sisters birthday and my non-vegan family loved it! I would highly recommend this recipe and I am thankful that it exists!!!!!!! I also put raspberries on top as an outside circle!

Amazing results! We swapped the sugar for coc0nut sugar and the cocoa in the frosting to coconut choc shot (sweet freedom) oh wow we are in cake heaven! happy birthday to me this birthday cake is amaze!! Thankyou xx

Just made this cake for my two year old’s birthday. Was amazing! Made it with vegan avocado frosting (avocado, date syrup and cacao), probably would have been even better with your buttercream. Just wanted to say thank you for this and all your other awesome recipes. I’m a big big fan!

Thanks for the recipe.
I didn’t have some of the ingredients when I came across your recipe so I used what I had.
I used Aluminum free baking powder, Dextrose (instead of sugar) and I used Organic virgin Coconut oil and plain unbleached spelt flour. I didn’t use coffee but used the Almond milk.
For the frosting I didn’t have vegan butter so I melted some Cacao butter and Dextrose then added the other ingredients you had.
When it was finished the icing firmed slightly and I took a tub of nice fat sweet juicy Strawberries and decorated the top with them.
The cake was a huge success, very rich & decadent yum.

This recipe is amazing, I had to bring a dessert to a friend’s pool party and a couple of my friends are vegan so I thought I would try it out. They all LOVED it. I didn’t make a two-layer cake but instead I made some cupcakes, which turned out quite well I must say. It made about 28 cupcakes which was perfect even though there would only be 10 people at this party. Let’s just say that I didn’t bring any cupcakes home. Highly recommend this to anyone.

This cake was the BEST! I made it with my 3 small girls for my husband’s birthday. He didn’t want cake. He isn’t a cake kinda guy– but the kids insisted we have cake at a birthday party! It was easy to make and used simple ingredients. I doubled the recipe to make an extra large 4-layer cake. My frosting turned out to be more like a ganache, which was fine with me! Maybe because I didn’t add as much powdered sugar as the recipe called for. I was nervous to serve this cake to my mother and grandmother (who have both been baking for many more years than me), and to my dad who is pretty critical of vegan cooking. Well, I’m happy to say it was a SMASH HIT! My mom and grandmother both want the recipe ASAP, and my dad and anti-cake husband raved about it. Thank you!

My son’s girlfriend is having a birthday and I plan to make this cake for her. She is vegan; we are not. That should tell you how much I like her. Has anyone ever used cashew milk instead of almond milk?

Before committing to this cake recipe I read the reviews, and a lot of them were just people who wanted to make the cake but had not tried the recipe yet.
I can confidently say this is the best vegan chocolate cake recipe I have made. All my friends who ate it had no idea it was vegan. It was perfect, delicious and moist.
I didn’t use the icing recipe, I ended up using coconut cream mixed with cocoa and icing sugar which turned out great.
Thank you for a wonderful recipe xxx

This cake was fabulous! I made it last week and everyone simply loved it. Thanks so much for a great recipe. I didn’t have any almond milk at home so I substituted regular 1% milk and it turned out just fine. I have used many different eggless cake recipes in the past and none of my cakes were ever so perfect…they were either too moist or too dry and never really rose much. I will be making this cake again and again for sure!

I have made this 3 times now and it’s perfect, moist, chocolatey, but not too sweet! Everyone asks for seconds too. Best chocolate cake ever! I now get requests to make it for birthdays in the office! Thank you, Dana! :)

I made this cake and when I took it out the oven it had cracked on the top, it was very soft and when I moved it onto a cooling rack one of the layers split in two. I tasted delicious though. I was wondering if anyone knows what I did wrong? Thanks :)

OK…tomorrow is my husband’s bday and I am trying to make the cake…..I think I messed it up…. because I forgot to activate the milk with the vinegar…I put all liquids together…since I used all organic, I didn’t want to throw all away- expensive. I proceeded to do everything else as indicated but the batter was a bit watery… I took them out of the oven and the toothpick does not come out totally clean…almost but they were baking for about 35 minutes. I need help NOW!!!!!….please. what happens is you don’t activate the milk???…should I throw it away and do not bother with the frosting? …the batter did not taste as sweet as I would like ..is it because the frosting will do the trick?

Despite what happened with the milk I finished making the cake and it was AMAZING!. Of course the batter was not as sweet because is the perfect sweetness combination with the frosting.
The frosting was also perfect. My husband was in cloud nine.

I can’t believe this is a vegan cake. It tastes amazing. I made just the cake part last night and will do the frosting tonight. I made this for my son (with dairy and egg allergies) as his birthday cake.

I have made fondant from Marshmallows as well (I know, not vegan, but does the trick for his situation) I am wondering what you think about the frosting holding up to fondant. If I chill the frosted cake for an hour or more, will the frosting become hard enough to stand up to be covered in fondant?

I’ll definitely report back after. ;) Thanks for the great alternative to chocolate cake.

Wow! This is so delicious! I made this cake for my friend’s baby shower. I made double size. Everyone loved it! I will do it again and again. Also, I added raisins in one layer and nuts in other one. And I left two layers just plain. I would definitely recommend this cake to everyone! Thank you so much for the recipe!

Hello. This is so far the best recipe for vegan ive found. I wonder if i can use rice flour and honey and instead of applesauce use dried dates? Im going to try different varieties because my son is turning 1 in 3 months and id like to perfect a vegan cake. Perhaps i can use another icin that doesnt have so much sugar and butter. I dont like vegn products. Theyre more overly processed amd still aid in tooth decay and a poor diet. I can maybe do some sort of honey icing. If anyone has ideas id appreciate them!!!

I made this cake today and it turned out perfect. I made 1/2 the recipe so just a single layer cake. It is already half gone and everyone went back for seconds. The texture and taste and the frosting are all wonderful. Thankyou for sharing this recipe, it will become a regular in our house from now on.

This cake is incredible. I initially discovered it when I was nursing my daughter and I had to give up dairy, soy and eggs because she was allergic. I missed baking and I missed eating delicious baked goods and I decided to try this cake and it was incredible. I’m not on a restricted diet anymore but I still come back to this cake time and time again because it is the best. Definitely my go-to chocolate cake. I love everything about it.

This is the BEST chocolate cake! Nevermind that it is Vegan…haha! I discovered it when searching for a birthday cake recipe for my Vegan daughter. I have made it 3 times now and it is always a hit with vegans and non-vegans alike! We like it so much, I made if for my definitely non-Vegan husband’s birthday, too. He loved it! The only sub I made was to use coffee to thin the frosting instead of nutmilk. mmmmmmm. Thank you for sharing!

Hi, so I have a little issue haha, this cake looks amazing however I have attempted the recipe 2 time now and it turns out without rising properly and quite dense, very much like a mousse tart kind of thing, and that’s devious but not this haha. Any advice? X

Yum! This was the most delicious cake I have ever tasted. I made it with my kids for my birthday. I was wondering, I am new to vegan recipes ( I have a little one that can’t eat eggs) do you have a vanilla cake recipe that is good for birthdays. The ones I have tried are very dense. I would love to find a vanilla recipe too as my hubby has a food sensitivity to chocolate. Thank you so much! Loving all your recipes!

Congratulation Dana! This cake is simply F A B U L O U S! Everyone loved it and were surprised at the ingredients! Yeah, I popped a vegan cake without saying a word just to check the results! Amazing how big it grew! Next time will do the buttercream…
I replaced the coconut oil with sunflower oil, because I can’t find it here in Portugal and it was okay! Still, not the same, I bet. Do you have other suggestions to replace it?
; )

Hey Dana, this cake looks amazing… One thing I wanted to know was is it possible to make without the coffee? I really don’t like coffee in my cakes but wasnt sure If the recipe could be adapted to leave it out? Please let me know :)

Hi Dana, this cake looks just amazing. I’d love to make this for my boyfriend’s birthday, but I found it difficult to get the applesauce where I live. What should I sub or can I omit it? Also, if I follow the recipe, how tall is the cake going to be without the frosting and the layer? Thanks!

Hi Dana! I made my own tweaks and used five Wilton 6″ baking pans and I baked them for 20 minutes instead. I ended up making a naked cake with matcha frosting. I don’t know if you like green tea but it’s worth a try if you haven’t already. Everyone couldn’t believe how moist and good this was sans egg. I love this recipe!

I’m new to baking and having been planning this cake for a birthday in a couple of weeks. Is it ideal to serve warm or chilled in the fridge? I really can’t remember how I like my cake. Also, if I have to make it the day before the party, should I wait to ice it? If I wait to ice it, should I also wait to make the icing?

I made this for a birthday party with a chocolate ganache filling. I substituted coconut milk for almond milk and used homemade applesauce with a gluten free cake mix. Some said it was the best cake they had in years. It was a huge hit.

Would it taste good the next day? I want to bring it to a school where I work on Friday, so I would have to make it the night before. Maybe I can bring the sponge cake and cream separately and put the cream on at school. How is the cream the next day?

Hi Dana! I’ve made this cake and the chocolate hazelnut cake a few times and it’s been such a hit every time! Thank you for continuing to post amazing recipes! I had a question, I’ve been asked to bake a chocolate cake for a wedding event and I wanted to use this one or the chocolate hazelnut. However, they’re requested a sheet cake so I wanted to ask how to adjust the measurements of the ingredients in this recipe. I’m thinking of a two layer 13″ x 9″ cake. I’m also looking to bake a classic sponge or vanilla cake, would you have a recipe for that?

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing, Arti. I don’t have a recipe for vanilla cake, but I have had people use my funfetti recipe to turn into cakes! Perhaps try a variation on that? I think people have even baked it in 9×13 and round pans, so look for tips there!

I eat chocolate cake on occasion but I’m not a chocolate cake lover as most cakes I’ve tasted are heavy, have an unbalanced chocolate flavor, too dry, too wet, and almost all leave me feeling heavy. However, your cake is hands down the best, moist, prettiest yet simple chocolate cake I’ve ever made and tasted! It’s just so light compared to dairy alternatives. My husband (chocolate cake connoisseur) took the cake to work and apparently it disappeared in 30 minutes and no one believed it was a vegan cake! Thank you Dana!

Made this cake yesterday for my boyfriends birthday, best cake ever! I don’t even normally like chocolate cake or chocolate frosting, but I haven’t been able to think about anything besides this cake since I tasted it! Awesome!!!

Oh my word !! I know I’ve already commented, but that was before I made this scrumptious cake! Now let’s get one thing straight…. This cake deserves a standing ovation ! It was SOOOO delicious. The best chocolate cake I’ve ever made. I’ve recently ditched dairy from my diet and this cake makes the transition a whole lot easier. Thank you so much for the recipe! And yes I will be making it again next weekend for me and my boyfriends Bday party! PS. I baked the cake in one 10″ cake pan and was a bit concerned wether it would cook through… I baked for 45 min and it was perfect!

Hi Dana! I’m looking to make this amazing looking cake for a party I’m attending. Do I have to refrigerate the cake after frosting? I live in a hot climate but I could ask the restaurant to keep the cake in the fridge – which will you suggest? I am worried that refrigerating it might dry the cake up and make it hard. Thank you in advance!!!

I love this recipe and I use it all the time! Everyone I make it for absolutely loves it :) However, the cake often doesn’t rise well. Is this a mixing problem? I usually mix it by hand, and not very long. Would I have better results with an electric mixer? Thanks!

I almost never take the time to write reviews but I just made these brownies and I’m amazed. They are so. Damn. Good. And I’ve had many vegan and non vegan brownies and this recipie is by far the best. I didn’t make them in a muffin tin but just a regular pan, but I used parchment paper to line it and it made it so easy. But they look like the pictures shown, and they’re just so good. Mine were done exactly at 22 mins of cooking.

I just made this , I’m Not sure how it taste yet but it smells good ! My frosting didn’t come like the picture ; it came out much darker in color and a little too liquidy even after putting more sugar. So I put it in the fridge uncovered . I really hope this doesn’t ruin it :( . Is this okay to do ? What is your recommendation on how to store it?

Thanks so much, I just made a weed variation of this cake where I substituted the oil for cannabis infused coconut oil, equivalent to putting about 14 grams of cooked weed into the recipe. I also put a little cannabis butter into the icing too.

It came out smelling and tasting wonderful and led to a very happy evening for my family and friends.

I saw the recipe and made it that same night! All I can say is this cake is DEEEElicious! I only had dark cocoa and the cake came out really, really dark, rich and decadent, as did the frosting. The only concern I have is that I don’t bake much and I certainly don’t know how to store such cake (my husband and I will never eat it fast enough for it not to spoil). Please help with storing suggestions.
Thanks!

Store it just like a wedding cake! Wrap it up in tin foil (or plastic wrap if you’re sensitive to the taste of metal) and then wrap it in freezer safe zip lock baggies. I am sure it’s too late to be telling you this now – but for future reference! I hope the cake was amazing for you :-)

Oh my goodness! This is so good! I have never tried a two-layer cake from scratch and this made it nice and easy. My cake turned out a little too moist, i think, and I didn’t have a round pan so the square cake I ended up with isn’t as pretty, but I love it! The frosting is phenomenal and it goes every the moist cake just fine. I hope my relatives will like it!

Hey! I want to make this recipe soon, but I don’t have applesauce (always kind of hated the stuff, too). Is the applesauce necessary, or can I exclude it? Maybe substitute it with something else? Of all the recipes of vegan chocolate cake that I found, this one appealed to me the most. So thanks so much for putting the effort into sharing it!

This cake is absolutely amazing, so moist and rich it’s to die for . Only difference with mine was I used a different frosting recipe (vegan vanilla buttercream) so I was wondering if you could give the macros for just the cake and not the frosting; thank you!

I really loved this cake when I made it for my husband’s birthday. So I’ve decided to make it for a friend’s birthday party but there will be 35 people there. Can I make it into a sheet cake? Thanks :)

Thank you for the lovely recipe. This is the first vegan baking experience I have had and your recipe was so easy to follow. I made a 8X8 cake and cupcakes for my daughter (20 months). They were a huge hit with her and my husband. I’m thinking I will make this again for some holiday parties. Happy Holidays! Nadia

Made this today for my sons birthday. It’s incredibly easy. I’ve never tried baking with coconut oil before and other than it lumping up a bit when I mixed the ingredients together, it smoothed out nicely. I’m guessing the key is to keep the mix warm to keep the coconut oil liquid? I think I let the coffee cool too much before adding it in. Any way it’s turned out lovely either way. Really pleased with the end result ? Thanks

I just wanted to let you know that I made this cake the other day for a neighbour’s birthday and it was perfect! My non vegan friends couldn’t believe it was made without eggs, milk and butter. It was exactly as you described, chocolatey, fudgy, moist and rich.. just simply delicious. Thank you so much for sharing such a gorgeous recipe. My husband and I are working our way through all your recipes and can’t wait for your cookbook next year??

This cake turned out FLAWLESS. Scrumptious and tender and deep chocolatey, oh my. I one-halved the recipe to make a three layer cake for my sister’s birthday, and I made a coconut oil frosting with cocoa and instant espresso powder; garnished with shaved darkdark chocolate~ I’m in absolute heaven, thank you so much for posting!

Why is these cake so oily I really didn’t like the texture or the flavor. Missing something . I think it’s only moist because of all the oil it has . An it has an Oily taste I personally was not a fan of these recepie !

I am sure everyone already knows how ridiculously bomb this cake is butttt I need to cosign anyways! I made this cake last Christmas for my non vegan family (I am the lone herbivore). THEY LOVED IT! it was the dessert hit of the day/night!! As Christmas is a couple days away I have been asked multiple times “you’re making that vegan chocolate cake again right? WE have waited all year for it!” hahahah its simply amazing! I remember eating it and dancing last Christmas and I can’t wait to do the same this Christmas!

Love it! I am going to make this cake for my birthday tomorrow for my family (omnivores). They can’t even tell that things don’t have processed or animal products in them unless you tell them differently! And I’m adding sprinkles on top for a celebration!!!!

I made this cake today for my son’s 15th birthday. He has been vegan for almost a year now and I have been having gluten issues. Anyway, a lot of people were hesitant to try some of the food at his party (vegan sushi, hummus, etc), but EVERYONE loved this cake! The only thing I changed was that I used gluten free flour and the only non dairy chocolate I could come up with for the frosting was 100% cacao ghirardelli. Thanks so much for all of your recipes! They have been a lot of help these past few months.

Hi Dana! I only bake once a year for my dad’s birthday, so I’m not an experienced baker by any means. This was also the first vegan recipe that I’ve attempted to follow. And the cake was delicious!!! My parents didn’t even suspect that it was vegan. Thanks so much for this recipe!

Hi
I followed the recipe exactly .. all stages and quantities, but the cake did not rise at all. I Combined the almond milk with apple vinegar – and have not seen any activate. Could this be the reason

Thank you for the One Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe. It is delicious! I eat a vegan diet, but my family does not. They were hesitant about trying this cake, and they were pleasantly surprised by how much they enjoyed it!

Hi Dana, i love love your site and make at least one recipe of yours a week. I made this cake as a suprise welcome home for my son, i was so very sad it didnt come out good. I had to make it gfree and used Bobs 1 for 1 all purpose gfree flour blend but didnt make any other substitutions but the cake was extremely gummy. Please help i want to try again do you have any idea where i went wrong? The frosting was delicious ( I ate way too much of that) I made your gingerbread boys for one of my sons Christmas school parties they were amazing!

Hmm, I haven’t attempted this cake GF. I would use this cake for reference! It works best if you blend several GF ingredients, such as oat flour, oats, almond meal and a gluten free blend in place of the all purpose…

Help! I really looked forward to trying this cake. Unfortunately, the cake consistency after baking and cooking was more like a bean-paste and not airy or fluffy at all. The flavor was ok, but is was not cake-like. Where did I go wrong with this recipe?

It looks very delicious and I can’t wait to make it! But, unfortunately, there’s a one little problem: vegan butter is not available in my country (or it’s so well hidden that I just didn’t manage to find it so far), so maybe I just simply can substitute it with coconut oil? However, I see that recipe requires quite a significant amount of butter, thus I’m afraid I might not work, but maybe?..

HI Dana, I’m just one more person who couldn’t help but make this cake and loved it. My children loved it, too. We’re all dairy-free and it’s not easy to find a good chocolate cake recipe with buttercream frosting that is, so thank you for this. I omitted the coffee and it was still delicious. Lastly, I’m not a very good baker and usually my cakes end up broken or lopsided. This one turned out perfectly. Yay!

So looking forward to trying this. I’m not vegan but I like to dabble with vegan meals sometimes to have a healthier day than usual. I usually make baked goods for my coworkers and sometimes they comment about how unhealthy my treats are… this one is going to surprise them, I can tell!

Just finished making this cake and just like the other recipes, just the buttercream frosting alone was divine!!!! This is my 40th birthday cake and I’m glad I chose this recipe just like the other vegan recipes, it’s amazing!!!!

I just tried this recipe for my daughters birthday. She is allergic to milk, and has a vegan friend, and even the little girl who was vegan said it was the best cupcake she has ever had. I wouldn’t recommend making them as cupcakes though, because the cake stuck to the paper. But, it was moist and had good flavor. I will definitely make it again.

Made this cake with the more easily available ingredient options (canola oil, white flour) and a little less than the listed sugar, and it was absolutely wonderful! It was dark, moist, and super chocolatey, and just the right amount of sweetness. It did take considerably more than 30 minutes for the cake to bake in the oven – but that was at least partly because the oven probably wasn’t sufficiently preheated to start. I can’t comment on the frosting part of the recipe as I went the easy route and topped it with store-bought dark chocolate frosting which we already had on hand. Everyone agreed it was the best chocolate cake we’ve ever had! I’m saving this recipe for all future family birthdays. (And next time I’ll try making the frosting too.)

ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!! You must give this chocolate cake a go, it is a winner in my books and I would have to say it outshines all the other chocolate cakes that I have ever made (even the ones with dairy)! This recipe creates the most moist chocolate cake, with such a light and fluffy texture whilst keeping a rich consistency. I am definitely making this cake again, it has gone to the top of my list! To decorate the cake, I added melted dark chocolate over the top of the cake and on the plate and I have to say it looked amazing! Thanks for this delicious recipe, I am definitely going to hand it down the generations!

I just made this cake tonight, and I’m afraid it turned out rather badly. However, it was the first vegan cake I’ve made that has enough structure to use as a layer cake without falling apart, so it may be worth modifying for better flavor and texture.

Followed exactly, it rendered a cake that looked exactly as pictured, but alone was under sweet, had very little chocolate flavor (though the leavening flavor was evident), and the texture was on the rubbery/springy side rather than fluffy. It was cooked through very nicely, moist, but evenly baked from middle to edge, but it relied entirely on the frosting to make it taste of chocolate.

I am worried that one or more of my ingredients were somehow faulty, but everything was freshly purchased and specific. I’m at a loss. 2 stars for not being too fragile to stack, which was lovely.

I have tried store bought vegan cakes, they have been terrible. I am going to try to make this cake for my daughter’s birthday this Saturday. It looks amazing. Can you tell me where I can store it for the next day’s party? It will be eaten the next day.

I made this cake following the recipe exactly and I think there are better recipes out there. It is way too dense and there isn’t enough chocolate flavor in the cake, and then in the frosting the processed vegan butter flavor was overpowering. I am honestly struggling to eat the rest of it, it’s just not worth the insane amount of calories (and price of ingredients) for me.

I don’t like to leave a bad review, but quite frankly, I have no idea how this recipe has worked out so well for anyone else. It was so underwhelming I didn’t feel like finishing a slice. The cake recipe itself isn’t too bad, I guess, though it’s still not really what I want from chocolate cake. The flavor is just lacking, and it was too fudgy and had a little bit of a weird moist consistency. The frosting was kind of a nightmare. I followed the recipe to the letter, no substitutions or variations, except that I ended up using at least double the called for powdered sugar because it would not ever thicken, and it still never did get thick enough! It ran off the sides of my cake AND the decorating turntable, and made a pretty big mess of my counter. I’ve found some really good recipes on this site, but a lot of them seem to be pretty hit or miss, and this one was definitely a miss for me.

Another great recipe! I have to say that it took longer than 30 minutes for my cake layers to bake, and I probably could have left them in the oven a minute or two longer still. Also, definitely need to double the frosting recipe to cover the entire cake! The frosting wasn’t quite fluffy but the flavor was awesome – just difficult to spread and smooth over the cake. Overall, really good!

This is the best cake I have ever made. I made it for my sister’s birthday, found a different recipe for a salted caramel buttercream between the layers, a dark chocolate ganache, and drizzled with salted caramel sauce. Yes yes yes yes. This cake is perfect.

Delicious! I’m pretty proficient when it comes to brownies and cookies, but for some reason cakes (particularly double layered) have always intimidated me. This was my first attempt, and it was a success! Like others have said, my wet ingredients never really achieved frothiness, but the cake itself turned out perfect nonetheless. (Perhaps on the denser side, but that’s how I like it anyway.) My frosting did not look like the photos here, BUT I did accidentally melt my butter (tried to rectify that by popping it back in the fridge) – despite this error, it still spread and covered the cake well and was no less tasty. Can’t wait to sneak this cake to my non-vegan loved ones :) Will definitely be making it again in the future.
Happy National Chocolate Cake Day (at least where I am, in the U.S.)!

Hello! I made this amazing cake yesterday and everyone loved it! I didn’t have two cake tins, or the patience to cook it in two batches so cooked the whole thing at once for a longer period of time – it still came out delicious.

I tried this recipe today for a black forest cake, and it was delicious! I accidentally only put 1/2 cup of cocoa powder, and reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup as I had sweetened applesauce, and prefer cakes a little less sweet, and it was delicious!

I made this cake over the holidays and it was a hit! I asked my husband to taste-test the frosting, and he loved it. Nobody at our dinner knew it was VEGAN! My father who does not eat desserts had 2 pieces of this cake. Shocker. Def a favorite recipe. Thank you for sharing!

I made this cake for my niece’s birthday celebration earlier this week, and this is the first time I’ve EVER returned to a website to provide feedback for anything. She and her boyfriend embrace the vegan lifestyle completely. I do not – at all. I should add at this point that I am a gentleman “of a certain age” who has somehow made his way this far without any significant kitchen skills…. AT ALL! The cake was absolutely WONDERFUL! While the recipe looked rather daunting to me, it was not at all difficult, and it came together beautifully. It was moist, and not at all too dense or too sweet. And the frosting alone was worth the price of admission. When we sliced into it, it looked exactly like the pictures on the website. Amazing, especially given my level of skills. And this is why I’ve returned to the website to provide feedback: It’s an impressively delicious cake that is easy to make, and makes a beautiful presentation on the good china for special occasions. (It’s even fantastic on a paper plate with breakfast coffee the next morning!) I’ll be skipping the local bakery and asking for it on MY next birthday, I can promise!